Life in a slow place that quickly steals your heart.

Me and my camera paid a visit to Karolina and Doug’s lavender farm to drop off 140 white lavender plants I started from cuttings for them in my greenhouse.

Results of an experiment using two root stimulating mediums.

In an earlier post…Money for nothing and the plants for free…I did an experiment using honey on half the stems to be rooted and a root hormone stimulate (powder) on the other half. I had equal success with both methods so will use the more natural, readily available and economical honey from now on. After I took the cuttings from the farm, prepared them for planting, transplanted them from plug trays into bigger pots and fussed and hovered over the little guys for several months I have now turned them over to the lavender farm to complete the fussing for a while longer before they have enough of a root system to withstand transplanting in the field. Lavender grows best from cuttings as they often don’t come true from seeds. The white lavender looks stunning in wedding photographs. I did a trade for some of the farms famous Balton sour cherries.

The farm was in the midst of their first harvesting when I stopped by.

Doug with some bunches to hang to dry.

I’m looking forward to helping with the harvest in about two weeks. The scent is unbelievable. I wonder if I will be like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz with the poppies and just fall asleep in the field.

I took a bunch home (the spindly one is from my own lavender) and its drying on my kitchen light.

I absolutely love lavender. My Scottish grandma always had lavender under the pillows and in her hankie drawers. Our daughter Kelsey just had her first babe, Timothy James, and she used lavender essential oils during the labour. It is such an amazing scent. I will have to visit the farm when I’m in Naramata in July. Thanks for the post. I can almost smell the lavender through the photos